Page 9 of Darkest Game (The Dark Mafia #3)

Chapter Five

Natalya

I rina has been gone for the past two days now and we still haven’t found her.

I tried so hard to save my sisters and I still ended up losing one of them. I’m an utter failure.

I cry this to my mom when it’s just the two of us in my bedroom. “Why couldn’t I have done better?”

“I failed Irina too. I should have been keeping a better eye on her. I never should have let her go outside.”

“She was kept as a prisoner for the past two years. I didn’t want to keep her on lockdown any more than she had been.”

She pushes my hair back. “I know. But we don’t even know who took her. We don’t know who killed Mikhail’s guards. She could be anywhere.”

“She could be dead,” I sob.

“Don’t go there. Have hope that we’ll save her.”

I clung to hope for the past two years that I would get my sisters back and now that hope has been dashed.

The front door bangs shut, signaling Mikhail has returned. I rush out to him and without me having to ask, he tells me.

“I know who took Irina. It was the Irish. But I don’t know where they’re keeping her. I checked some of Liam’s known locations but she hasn’t been spotted around there. I’ll keep looking for her, Natalya. But…”

“Don’t say but,” I snap.

“But we might have to face the reality that she could be gone.”

I break down into tears as I sink to the floor. Both my mom and Mikhail try to keep me up but nothing can. Ana watches from the corner of the room, not saying a word. My usually talkative sister and now she’s as quiet as a mouse. All because I lost our other sister. I lost Irina.

And I don’t know how to save her.

Irina

Liam drives us to a small chapel in the middle of nowhere. A reception hall is right beside it, presumably where the party for the wedding will be. Jack wants this to be a whole affair so he invited a lot of guests. People I don’t even know at my own wedding.

The wedding I’m being forced into.

He parks the car. “This is it. Time to get married.”

“You can still drive away,” I urge. “Neither of us want this. We could just leave right now. If you gave me back to my family, then maybe you could strike a deal with Mikhail and Nico.”

“They would shoot me on sight.”

“You don’t know that. My sisters would make sure I wasn’t hurt, which means their husbands wouldn’t immediately start shooting. I could put in a good word for you.”

“Put in a good word for me? Like it’s a job interview?

” He scoffs. “No. I’m not going against Jack.

I like my life the way it is. I don’t want to give it up to go into hiding.

I don’t want to work with Mikhail and fucking Nico, who killed my first boss.

Cillian Kennedy was my friend. I could never work with the man who was responsible for his death. Never.”

“But you don’t want me.”

His eyes flick over to me and away. There’s something he’s not telling me but I doubt I’ll get any answers. This is a marriage of politics. Not love.

To my right, I see more cars pull up and people exiting them to head to the church. There have to be around a hundred people so far. A spectacle indeed.

Liam offers me his hand after he opens my door. I would rather not take it but he’s my future now. No one is coming to save me at this point. I have to try with Liam or I’m going to be miserable for the rest of my life.

But the fact that he’s still going to step back and let Jack have his way with me tonight is concerning. It’s not husband material. It’s not what I dreamed of in a man that I would be bound to for the rest of my life.

Slowly, I place my hand in his and Liam curls his fingers around mine.

His touch is warm and strong. If I wasn’t so afraid, I wouldn’t be angry about marrying Liam.

He’s incredibly handsome and hasn’t shown any desire to beat me.

I know that’s a low bar but in the mafia, that’s all one woman can expect.

He leads me to the church.

“This is all wrong,” I whisper.

“What is?”

“You weren’t supposed to choose my dress. I was supposed to surprise my husband on our wedding day. I was supposed to be in love.” My throat chokes up from holding back tears.

“If it makes you feel any better, I was expecting things to be a lot different for my own life too.”

“Like what?” I barely know anything about the man I’m about to marry.

“I never expected to get married. I was content living my life… until Jack fucking took over.”

I squeeze his hand. “You can still protect me from him. Don’t let him hurt me tonight.”

His eyes darken as he grabs my chin and forces me to look at him. “Jack wants you. I can’t stop it.”

“Yes you can.”

“And do what? Kill him? We would both be killed then.”

“This isn’t fair,” I whisper as tears slip down my face.

“I know,” he says softly. “I know.” He re-takes my hand again and pulls me into the church.

Jack intercedes us. “I’ll walk her down the aisle. You go first.”

Liam nods and without a look at me, walks down the aisle. All our guests rise for him.

“Shall we?” Jack offers me his arm and it takes everything inside of me not to recoil from him. I place my hand in his arm.

And then we’re walking down the aisle. Liam’s face is a stoic mask. All these people at my wedding are strangers. I’ve never felt more alone in my entire life.

Jack leans in close to my ear when we reach the end of the aisle. “I’ll have fun tonight.”

I shiver.

He takes his seat beside Elaine, who glares daggers at me.

Liam offers me his hand and the next thing I know, I’m standing before him and the priest next to us begins the ceremony.

My body becomes weightless from the fear inside of me. I start to fall back when Liam tightens his hold on my hands, keeping me upright.

He won’t let me fall, whether it’s for his own benefit or mine, I’m not sure. I guess it doesn’t really matter. This marriage is happening and I cannot stop it.

“Do you, Liam O’Connor, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

Liam’s eyes flick to Jack for a second before he nods. “I do.” He can’t look at me as he says it. Is he ashamed? Does he really hate the fact that I’m Russian that much?

“And do you, Irina Petrov, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

I know Sasha or Ana would snap and say ‘no.’ They would raise hell to stop this.

But I’m not like those two. I’ve always been shy and a rule follower.

And right now, the only way I can save myself is by marrying Liam. Jack also won’t give me a choice. He’d probably grab my face and force me to say yes.

So, I force the words out of my mouth. “I do,” I whisper.

“You’ll need to speak louder,” the priest says, making me flush.

“I heard her,” Liam snaps. “She said it.”

“But I need to hear her.” The priest nods at me. “Again.”

I clear my throat. The eyes of all the people in the room are burning into me. “I do.”

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss –,” he stops short, his eyes in Jack’s direction. When I glance over my shoulder, I see that Jack is shaking his head.

He doesn’t want me to kiss Liam.

Because he wants to be the first one to kiss me.

“Let’s celebrate,” Jack says, standing up, clapping his hands. “Everyone to the reception hall.” He comes over to me and takes my arm. “I’ve got it from here, Liam.”

Liam’s jaw is tense as he lets my hands go but once again, he doesn’t stop Jack. My husband is a coward and that’s the worst thing of all.

The reception hall next door is actually very beautiful. Dark wood floors. Soft white drapes. Elegant tablecloths. Pretty chandeliers overhead, making the space feel warm and inviting.

The main table at the head of the room is for the bride and groom. Except… I’m seated next to Jack and not Liam. No, Liam is regulated to the end of the table, as far away from me as Jack can make us.

Elaine sits on Jack’s other side and continues to glare at me. If looks could kill, I’d be buried under ground already.

Jack eats the steak before him like a man dying of hunger. It’s messy and gross and rude. Knowing that I’ll have to smell his breath on me tonight almost makes me vomit. In fact, I can’t hold it back.

“I have to use the restroom,” I say and try to stand up but Jack grabs my hand.

“Don’t even think about running. There are guards all around this place.”

“I’m really just going to the restroom.”

He nods and lets me go. Apparently, my answer is good enough for him. A part of me wants to vomit right on him just to see his reaction. If I have to smell his breath tonight, I want him to smell my vomit breath as well.

My eyes catch Liam’s as I leave the table. I can feel his gaze on me when I head to the restroom but once again, he doesn’t do anything to help me. I’m becoming more and more dejected as the day goes on.

The bathroom is surprisingly elegant. White marble counters. Flowers in a vase between the sinks. Soft lighting that makes everyone look better.

I splash water on my face and try to take breaths to calm myself. Panicking is not going to do me any good tonight. Maybe it won’t be so bad… being with Jack. Maybe he’ll show me pleasure. He’s not exactly ugly by any means. It will just be one and done and then I can move on with my life.

Except… Jack made it clear he’ll take me more often throughout my marriage to Liam. It’s clear he’s trying to punish Liam, but he’s also punishing me and I haven’t done anything to deserve it.

The injustice of everything makes me cry.

But I don’t for long because the restroom door opens and in walks Elaine.

“Why are you crying?” she asks in a hard tone. “You should be grateful to be one of us now. Instead of being a filthy Russian.”

“I know you’re anger. But please don’t take it out on me. I’m a prisoner here. A victim. I never asked for any of this.”